Single Story

What Single Story does

Single Story Inc. is a Chicago-based, privately held boutique consulting firm founded in 2015 that provides leadership development, organizational design, strategic planning, board development, conflict resolution, executive hiring, and equity-embedded systems work to schools, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations. The firm operates without any software or technology platform; service delivery is built on the founders' direct expertise, a proprietary Constructive Accountability framework (a Clarity vs. Care 2x2 matrix), and structured facilitation rather than on automated tooling or AI.

The company packages its work into three engagement pathways: an ongoing Advisory & Design Partnership for long-term organizational strengthening; project-based Strategic Facilitation & Targeted Engagements for discrete needs such as strategic planning, board development, or retreats; and Embedded/Interim Leadership Support in which the firm places interim executive leadership during transitions or crises. Go-to-market is direct and referral-driven: an initial conversation call, fit assessment, and tailored proposal, with the firm responding within one business day. There is no public pricing, no resellers, and no paid marketing — distribution runs through the website, sector community presence, and word-of-mouth within the education and nonprofit ecosystems of Chicago and the broader Midwest.

The operating model is founder-centric. Brian Corley (M.B.A., Northwestern; former Head of School at Near North Montessori) serves as Founder & CEO, and Dr. Kellie Corley (Ed.D., University of Illinois at Chicago; former Head of School leading school turnaround in Bronzeville) serves as Co-Owner and COO. The firm reports 1-10 employees and has cumulatively served more than 60 organizations across three sectors (K-12 education, nonprofits, and select for-profits). The business is bootstrapped with no disclosed institutional investment.

Name

Single Story

Legal name

Single Story Inc.

Website

https://singlestoryinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Single Story Inc. is a Chicago-based boutique consulting firm that helps schools, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations strengthen leadership, governance, and organizational systems through advisory, project-based, and embedded interim leadership engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting Services

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Management & Leadership Advisory (Succession, Performance, Culture) (BPACAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interim Executive & Fractional Leadership Placement (BPACAAAJ)

Keywords

• Leadership consulting
• Organizational design
• Nonprofit consulting
• Education leadership
• Executive coaching

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Services Consulting: Single Story generates revenue through professional consulting engagements with three primary structures: (1) Ongoing Advisory & Design Partnership for organizations seeking long-term support to strengthen leadership, systems, and culture; (2) Strategic Facilitation & Targeted Engagements for structured, high-impact work anchored to specific needs such as strategic planning, board development, leadership workshops, and conflict mediation; (3) Embedded/Interim Leadership Support providing interim executive leadership during transitions or high-urgency situations. Revenue is project-based and retainer-based depending on engagement type.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Single Story Inc. is a leadership and organizational design firm that partners with schools, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations to develop leadership capacity, design organizational systems, and strengthen governance. The firm delivers services through three engagement pathways: Advisory & Design Partnership (ongoing retainer), Strategic Facilitation & Targeted Engagements (project-based), and Embedded/Interim Leadership Support (deployed executives).

Product overview

Single Story Inc. is a leadership and organizational design consulting firm offering a portfolio of seven core service areas and three engagement pathways. The seven core services—Executive Leadership & Organizational Stabilization, Leadership Development, Organizational Systems & Strategic Planning, Board Development & Governance, Conflict Resolution & Culture, Equity as a Daily Practice, and Executive Hiring & Talent Strategy—are delivered through three engagement models: Advisory & Design Partnership (ongoing), Strategic Facilitation & Targeted Engagements (project-based), and Embedded / Interim Leadership Support (embedded). This is a service-based consulting offering, not a software product or platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations experience clear, aligned leadership teams after engagement
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bellwether Education Partners: A national nonprofit focused on education-sector advisory and organizational support for schools, districts, and education-focused organizations. Highly comparable to Single Story because it pairs leadership development, organizational design, and governance support for mission-driven education clients.
• TNTP: A national nonprofit that works with school systems, districts, and state education agencies on leadership pipelines, talent strategy, and organizational improvement. Comparable to Single Story because it addresses similar pain points in K-12 leadership, executive development, and system redesign for school organizations.
• Education Resource Strategies (ERS): A non-profit that partners with school districts on strategic planning, resource allocation, and organizational design. Comparable to Single Story because it sells long-term advisory engagements aimed at building leadership and operational capacity in K-12 systems.
• CompassPoint Nonprofit Services: A nonprofit leadership development and organizational effectiveness consultancy focused on executive directors and senior teams of social-sector organizations. Comparable to Single Story because it serves the same nonprofit executive and board audiences with leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational design work.

Broad incumbents

• The Bridgespan Group: A large nonprofit strategy consulting firm serving mission-driven organizations across sectors including education. Comparable to Single Story because it competes for the same executive-level strategic planning and organizational design engagements with nonprofits and foundations, but at substantially greater scale and brand recognition.
• Korn Ferry: A global executive search and organizational consulting firm with a dedicated Education and Social Enterprise practice. Comparable to Single Story because its executive search, leadership development, and organizational consulting practices overlap directly with Single Story's executive hiring and leadership development work, though at significantly larger scale.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with sector practices spanning education, nonprofit, and social impact. Comparable to Single Story because the firm competes for executive hiring and leadership development mandates from mission-driven and education organizations, with broader geographic reach.
• Deloitte Human Capital (Education & Nonprofit practices): The Human Capital practice of a Big Four firm that delivers organizational design, leadership development, and transformation consulting to large education and nonprofit clients. Comparable to Single Story because it competes for enterprise-level leadership and organizational transformation mandates from mission-driven organizations, though from a global platform with broader capabilities.

Emerging players

• Public Impact: A national education-research and consulting firm focused on school leadership, talent strategy, and education-system redesign. Comparable to Single Story because it engages with school and district leaders on organizational strategy, leadership pipelines, and execution support.
• SchoolWorks: An education consulting firm that provides school turnaround, leadership development, and organizational design services to K-12 schools and networks. Comparable to Single Story because it works with school leadership on transitions, strategic planning, and culture reset in underperforming or transition-stage schools.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/singlestoryinc1
• Facebookfacebook.com/SingleStoryInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/single-story-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Single Story